Action 1: Send Help to Houston!

The displacement and widespread damage in Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey will be “unprecedented” and “unknown and beyond anything experienced,” states the National Weather Service. Below, we’ve provided a list of local organizations that can provide effective aid to those in need:

On August 25th, President Trump pardoned the infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, legendary for his racial profiling and inhumane detention practices. In response to this shocking and immoral pardon, Joe Biden writes: “[President Trump’s] contempt for the U.S. Constitution and willingness to divide this nation knows no bounds. Now he’s pardoned a law-enforcement official who terrorized the Latino community, violated its constitutional rights, defied a federal court order to stop, and ran a prison system so rife with torture and abuse he himself called it a “concentration camp.”

Not only does this pardon condone bigotry and brutality, it also supports Arpaio’s repeated violation of the fourth amendment, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure lacking probable cause. Trump’s pardon of Arpaio also flouts the power of the judicial branch, and is therefore “an express repudiation of the many systems that exist to appropriately and lawfully channel the President’s power.” (see The New Yorker article below) A President who blocks the courts from sanctioning a sheriff who intentionally defies the law “is breaking the basic structure of the legal order.” (see The Atlantic article below).

There must be a formal condemnation of this pardoning. Call on all of our representatives to censure Trump for his flagrant disregard for our constitution and the rule of law.

Script:

My name is [NAME], calling from [CITY, ZIP]. I’m calling to ask Senator/Representative [NAME] to introduce a resolution to formally censure President Trump for his flagrant disregard for our constitution and the rule of law, displayed by the pardoning of Sheriff Arpaio. Thank you for taking my call.